Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Guide to usage of Kenyan superhighways



NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 10 – The Motorists Association of Kenya on Wednesday morning launched a booklet to guide motorists on how to navigate the upcoming Thika Superhighway.
Chairman Peter Murima expressed his association’s concern with the rate at which accidents occur on the yet to be finished superhighway and said the book aims to forestall the easily preventable accidents.
“The new roads require correct responsible driving; recklessness has no place on the new look smooth superhighways. Motorists, pedestrians and other roads users urgently need to keep up with change by knowing how to use the superhighway safely,” he said.
Mr Murima called on the Ministry of Roads to review the current driving curriculum in order to retrain drivers on the usage of the expanded roads.
“The current driver education curriculum is deficient in the sense that it does not train drivers on how to use the superhighway, so the Ministry of Roads must review the education curriculum for all road users,” he stated.
The association has further urged the ministry of roads to construct enough footbridges to ensure that pedestrians do not take the risk of crossing the superhighways.
“The Ministry of Roads should construct enough pedestrian foot bridges as pedestrians cannot cross the fast express lanes of the (Nairobi -Thika) superhighway. It is almost suicidal to contemplate crossing three or four lanes designated for high speed,” he said.
“We do not want to see a repeat of accidents like those on Mombasa road, after it was expanded to six lanes it has claimed the lives of many pedestrians who are trying to cross particularly at Bellevue and Mlolongo,” he added.
The guide book is currently available in Nairobi and will be sold at Sh150 in bookshops and by newspaper vendors. The association expects to roll out the book and other driver sensitization campaigns in the counties in the coming weeks.
The guide book has specific lessons for safe driving on the express lanes, entering and leaving the express lanes, driving at interchanging junctions, speed limits and evacuation procedure in case of accidents on the superhighways.
Mr Murima also urged passenger service vehicles to correctly use the service lanes off the express lanes, to avoid inconveniencing the passengers.
Mr Murima warned that motorcyclists ferrying passengers (estimated at about 400,000 in Kenya) will not be allowed on the express lanes on the superhighway due to safety concerns as well as well the low engine capacity of the motorcycles they use.
He urged motorists to take extra caution while using the various sections of the Nairobi-Thika superhighway that have been opened and are still without markings.

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